Day 13-14 São Paulo (24 to 25 November)

On Saturday we woke up late and after trying the bolo de cenoura for breakfast (the Brazilian carrot cake that is surprisingly better than the British one) we went to explore the city with Yasmin and Joan. Firstly we walked to the Ibirapuera park, which was very close to their house. It is a huge open space with a couple of nice lake that local people use to practise many different sports and get away from the stress of the city.

After that we caught an Uber to Vila Madalena to visit Beco do Batman, a street full of colourful graffitis on the wall and many local pubs and restaurants. We had lunch in one of these places where we tried the most popular brasilian dish “feijoada”, a stew with black beans and different meats served with rice. For desert we tried açaí ice cream, a very energetic fruit that is also very popular in Brazil and I wanted to try since we arrived in the country.

After lunch we got an Uber back home and rested for a couple of hours. During this time the sky turned orange and suddenly a violent storm with strong winds and heavy rain started followed by a nice rainbow. Luckily the storm ceased and we went out for dinner at a nice Japanese ramen place close-by.

On Sunday we visited Avenida Paulista, a broad avenue full of museums and art galleries that is closed to the traffic on Sundays. We entered the Japan House (an art gallery of Japanese contemporary art) and Casa das Rosas, a former colonial house with a small rose garden. We also enjoyed amazing views of the city from the top of a cultural centre. After a quick street food lunch we headed to Liberdade, the Japanese neighbourhood of São Paulo. We had some Japanese deserts there and walked around the streets.

After that we went back home, stopping in a shopping mall nearby because Ari was looking for a Brazilian tanga. Sadly she didn't find one! :( For dinner Yasmin cooked a nice fideua for us. It was a pleasure to stay with Yasmin and Joan, we hope to see them again soon!